Tuesday recap
A host of Round 1 and Round 2 games today, with wins for Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump.
Here’s the full breakdown:
- Wu Yize 1-4 Oliver Lines
- Ali Carter 1-4 Ma Hailong
- Kyren Wilson 4-3 David Grace
- Chris Wakelin 4-2 Bulcsu Revesz
- Mark Williams 4-0 Jamie Clarke
- Noppon Saengkham 4-3 Thepchaiya Un-nooh
- Judd Trump 4-2 Matthew Selt
- Tian Pengfei 4-1 Robert Milkins
- Louis Heathcote 4-1 Jimmy Robertson
- Stuart Bingham 4-0 Mark Davis
- Zhou Yuelong 2-4 Shaun Murphy
Allen takes swipe at Tour
Mark Allen has slammed the World Snooker Tour for giving him “poor coverage” during his time as world No1.
The 38-year-old topped the rankings in May and kept the top spot until August when he was dethroned by Judd Trump.
He told the BBC: “It was a bit anti-climactic. It wasn’t really enjoyable if I’m honest.
“I feel like I got very poor coverage from the governing body and I didn’t get a lot of coverage here [in Northern Ireland].
“Even turning up at events I wasn’t on the main table all the time.”
Key format
As we progress through the competition, the match length will start to lengthen ahead of Sunday’s final.
- Rounds 1 to 5: all matches are the best of 7 frames
- Quarter-finals: best of 9 frames (with mid-session interval)
- Semi-finals: best of 11 frames (with mid-session interval)
- Final: best of 17 frames – two sessions with scheduled mid-session intervals
Ronnie out
Just a reminder that Ronnie O’Sullivan is not playing in Belfast this week.
The seven-time world champion dropped out of the tournament on Sunday night, citing medical reasons.
It comes after The Rocket sat out the British Open and the Wuhan Open.
All White on the night
Snooker legend Jimmy White has revealed his spot in snooker’s biggest events is safe – thanks to Barry Hearn.
The 62-year-old controversially beat Hossein Vafaei 4-2 on Monday to book his place in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open.
White still holds a tour card but former World Snooker Tour chairman Hearn has promised to help him stay in the game should he fall down the rankings.
He revealed: “I got mine on merit the last couple of years.
“Barry Hearn did say to me, what I’ve done for the game, as long as I keep playing in all of the events then I’ll keep getting the wildcard.”
Luca’s big Brec
Luca Brecel is currently commuting to the Northern Ireland Open from a BEACH in Majorca.
The Belgian Bullet beat He Guoqiang 4-3 in a low-scoring first-round clash in Belfast on Sunday afternoon.
He is set to play again against Pang Junxu on Wednesday morning – and will only jet in at the last minute.
Brecel said: “It’s a bit of a crazy way but that’s how I like it. I cannot wait to be by the beach.
“I have done this my whole career. You could also say, ‘he could have won more’, but for me it’s not about winning more in this game, it’s about enjoying it.
“I do enjoy this game. I love it every time I come to the table. That’s the way I want to keep it. But this is the lifestyle I need to have to enjoy it the most.”
